The present disclosure generally relates to a patient support apparatus, such as a hospital bed or a stretcher, having an articulated patient support deck. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a patient support apparatus having an auto contour feature to raise the knees of a patient supported on the deck as a head section of the deck is raised.
If a patient's knees are not raised when the patient's head is raised, the patient has a tendency to migrate toward the foot end of the stretcher. A caregiver may have to reposition the patient back toward the head end of the stretcher, which can be difficult, especially when the patient is heavy. Some stretchers and hospital beds have an auto contour mechanism which causes a thigh section of the deck to raise when the head section is raised. There are some instances, however, when a caregiver may not want the thigh section to raise when the head section is raised. Stretchers often have one or more gas springs that aid a caregiver in lifting the head section of the deck and that lock the head section in a desired position. Even in stretchers with gas springs, raising the head section with a patient supported on the deck can be difficult for heavier patients.
Although the term “stretcher” is used throughout this disclosure, it is understood that the teachings of this disclosure may be incorporated into other types of patient support apparatuses, such as, for example, hospital beds, imaging tables, operating tables, and so on. The term “patient support apparatus,” as used in this description and claims, therefore, shall be understood to include any type of patient support apparatus, such as, for example, a stretcher, a hospital bed, an imaging table, an operating table, and the like.